BLD

A more casual take on his restaurant Grace, Neal Fraser's bld is a favored hangout for locals. The name stands for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and that's what you get: simple, well-executed food made from top-notch ingredients. Light streams through tall windows, glinting off the parade of baby carriages that pack the place on weekend mornings as families dig into cream-cheese-and-chive biscuits and fluffy ricotta pancakes punctuated with farmer's-market blueberries. During lunch and dinner, cooks cram buns with plump patties (some made from Berkshire pork, others from turkey or dry-aged prime beef), toss plenty of veggie salads, and arrange the best cheese and charcuterie platters. If you're feeling glum that youve downed the last bite of braised short rib panini with horseradish coleslaw, take comfort: You can start all over again the next morning.  IV

Joan's on Third

Everyone eventually meets at Joan McNamara's place, over granola parfaits at breakfast, buying turkey meatloaf to go, or simply to indulge in a sinfully moist chocolate cupcake, with icing piled perilously high. A gourmet marketplace and café favored by celebutantes and busy moms, Joan's on Third shakes up its menu daily. Everything is made from scratch in-house. Tote a picnic box to the beach or Hollywood Bowl, and enjoy the looks of envy.  JWH

Langer's Delicatessen

Matzo ball soup, half-sour pickles, fluorescent lighting, Formica tabletops. This could be any deli of yesteryear on the Lower East Side of Manhattanexcept for the view of McArthur Park Lake. Providing a taste of home for many a transplanted New Yorker, Langer's specializes in perfectly peppery, tangy pastrami that arguably outshines that of its New York rivals. Don't judge Langer's by its sometimes sketchy neighborhood: Just go early, order the hot pastrami on rye with coleslaw and Russian dressing, and savor the experience. Better yet, phone ahead for curbside service and gobble the goods back home.  CB

Lucques

Suzanne Goin's rustic Mediterranean food is luscious, evocative of each season, and often tweaked with one unanticipated ingredient that induces all-out rapture; it's not every day that your lamb comes with house-made merguez, grilled leeks, and salbixada (spanish chile paste), for example. Dine on the bucolic patio or in the cozy converted carriage houseit even has the rare L.A. fireplace. Wild striped bass with crushed fingerlings, and braised veal cheeks with faro and chestnuts are among the best entrées. Sunday suppers (three-course meals for $40) are especially affordable. JWH

The Hungry Cat

Revitalized Hollywood has its share of nightclubs, burger joints, and Thai restaurants. But until now, the neighborhood lacked a casual yet seriously good seafood spot. The Hungry Catpet project of married chefs Suzanne Goin (Lucques, A.O.C.) and David Lentz (formerly Opaline)fills the void with small plates from the sea. With its industrial room, tiny open kitchen, and gutsy fare, it's become a favorite with family brunchers, young couples, and off-duty chefs. You'll be tempted to order everything on the menu, from the smoked-haddock chowder to the addictive lobster roll.  CB

Note: All restaurant information subject to change without notice. Please contact the restaurant for the most current information.